Foreign Minister Gyawali leaves for Bangladesh

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has left for a three-day official visit to Bangladesh at the invitation his
Bangladeshi counterpart, Dr AK Abdul Momen. Gyawali is accompanied by Joint-Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Yagya Bahadur Hamal,
Joint-Secretary at the Commerce and Supply Ministry, Nabaraj Dhakal, and Joint-Secretary at the Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation,
Prabin Aryal. During the visit, Gyawali will hold delegation-level talks with his counterpart
The two foreign ministers will review overall aspects of the bilateral relations and exchange views on various matters of mutual interest
such as energy, trade, transit, connectivity, tourism and cooperation on regional and multilateral issues, according to a MoFA statement
Minister Gyawali said he would take initiative to foster partnership between the two countries in regional, international and multilateral
forums. The two sides are also expected to hold talks on Preferential Trade Agreement and Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles
Agreement, besides cross border electricity trade
Earlier, the PTA was expected to be signed during Bangladeshi President Mohammad Abdul Hamid visit to Nepal last November
On the sidelines of the 18th NAM Summit in Azerbaijan in October, Bangladesh Prime Minister Seikh Hasina had requested Prime Minister KP
Sharma Oli to finalise the PTA during Hamid Nepal visit. As far as the BBIN is concerned, Bangladesh, India and Nepal have already ratified
it
Although lower house of Bhutan approved the agreement in 2016, the upper house rejected it
Bhutan has requested for a cap to be fixed on the number of vehicles entering its territory
During the Azerbaijan meet, Oli and Hasina had agreed to implement the BBIN Agreement among the three countries, if Bhutan needed more
time. For cross-border power trade, Bangladesh has already formulated a policy to import 9,000 MW electricity from Nepal by 2040
Construction of transmission line, selection of projects and cooperation on alternative energy are in focus. Nepal and Bangladesh have also
agreed to cooperate on electricity generation, development of hydroelectricity, cross-border transmission lines, development of efficient
human resources in hydropower sector, promotion of government-to-government and private sector investment, grid connectivity and investment
in renewable energy. The Foreign Minister is also scheduled to deliver a speech at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic
Studies on Nepal-Bangladesh Relation and South Asian Cooperation
He will return home on February 19. The post Foreign Minister Gyawali leaves for Bangladesh appeared first on The Himalayan Times.